Boehner: Fire Geithner and Summers

Democrats were clearly ready for Boehner's speech Tuesday — so much so that White House and congressional officials held conference calls in advance of the remarks on Monday to blast Boehner and warn that he wanted to return to Bush-era economic policies.

"It's an effort to obscure the lack of a Republican stand," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) said after Boehner’s speech, adding that Republicans have been "standing in the doorway" of economic progress and acting as "a blockade."

Also likely to irk Democrats was Boehner’s call for the president to veto bills such as card-check legislation — which would make it easier for employees to unionize — and an energy bill, which Democrats believe would bring the country closer to eliminating harmful pollutants and roll back global warming.

“Democratic leaders refuse to rule out the possibility of forcing these job-killing bills through in a lame-duck session, after the election, after the voters have had their say,” Boehner said. “Their failure to level with the American people only compounds the ongoing economic uncertainty.”

The minority leader offered some specifics, which might help brush back claims that the GOP is a party of no ideas. He called on nondefense discretionary spending to go back to 2008 levels, claiming that if spending is reduced, it would save taxpayers more than $340 billion.

Boehner is also calling for elimination of the so-called 1099 mandate, which would require some employers to disclose anything they buy in excess of $600.

“What is the point of making employers and entrepreneurs spend $17 billion to send all this paperwork to Washington, where it’s going to cost about $10 billion to log it in and file it away?” Boehner plans to say. “Talk about overhead.”

The speech also continues a trend of unveiling parts of Boehner’s personal life as he tries to introduce himself to a larger American audience in his audition for speaker of the House. Boehner discusssed mopping his father’s bar in Cincinnati and watching him “agonize” over economic decisions.

He also spoke of watching leaders in both parties “look at the big issues, the tough issues — and then look away” — a nod at Boehner’s attempt to separate himself from even his own party.

“It’s time to put grown-ups in charge,” Boehner said. “It’s time for people willing to accept responsibility. It’s time to do what we say we’re going to do. These are the values I learned growing up with 11 brothers and sisters, and these are the values I have passed on to my daughters. I’ve also told my girls how I was raised to never accept the next best thing for myself or my country.”

Boehner is trying to strike a tone of desperation about the deficit — saying he’s not afraid to say that America has no money left. He invokes both John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, echoing a good government mantra that has few laws and low taxes.

Boehner also put his finger on political scale, highlighting some of the party’s lawmakers. He mentioned several Republicans by name — Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who is running the GOP’s agenda project and Indiana’s Gov. Mitch Daniels, a favorite of many conservatives nationwide. He also invoked former congressman and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp.

He also boosted Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for identifying $1.3 trillion in cuts. But doesn’t mention Ryan's controversial separate Roadmap for America's Future, including a reworking of Social Security and vouchers for Medicare.